


I'm stuck in the dark and you're my flashlight

by hellaskye



Series: We ain't picture perfect, but we're sure as hell worth the picture [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Hawkeye (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Young Avengers
Genre: :), F/F, F/M, First Fic posted, Gen, M/M, Oops, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, half of the characters will only be in the sequel, just everyone ever, the author does not understand tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 23:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4077499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellaskye/pseuds/hellaskye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Natasha decided to pass on the favor Clint gave her, which he originally received from Coulson, it turns out the Council are stupid little shits, and maybe, Clint and Natasha can save a girl who never had a chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> alright, here we go :) I own Ekaterina, and she's enough for now
> 
> updates will be sporadic at best, but im not abandoning this as of yet 
> 
> this is also part of a series, it was supposed to be a prequel to a fic I'm working on, but oops :)

"Agents Barton and Romanoff, my office please," Director Fury demanded from the entrance to SHIELD gym 7 where Strike Team: Delta was sparring. From his position pinned under Romanoff's thighs, Barton offered his boss a placating smile. 

 

     "Can it wait a couple minutes Nick? We're kinda in the middle of proclaiming the best hand to hand combatant of Strike Team: Delta."

     "I have a mission for you both, and I need you _immediately_. My office, now."

     Reluctantly, his agents separated, Romanoff pulling herself up first, and then offering a hand to Barton. As they travelled down the hallway, Fury in front and Strike Team: Delta trailing behind, he caught their hand movements as they signed behind his back, no doubt conferring over what mission he had for them. Fury had no way to be sure however, as Barton and Romanoff had their own sign language they used, unique to the pair. As frustrating as it was to Nick, he had to admit it made for a good mission asset.  

     Once they got to his office, Fury settled behind his desk and pushed a single paper towards the duo. They looked over it together, eyebrows furrowed, hands occasionally signing something at the other. They finished at exactly the same time ( _creepy as fuck_ ) and looked up at him, expressions unsatisfied. 

     "Just to clarify," Barton said seriously, all business. "There's going to be an attack on a private high school, and you're sending _us_ to take out the attacker before she blows it up?"

     "This brief is ridiculous," Romanoff interrupted before Fury could open his mouth to respond. "There is _very_ little information here. There isn't a specific day of attack, there isn't a motive, or any other specifics. For fuck's sake, _there isn't even any target information here!_ Who the _fuck_ is the target?!"

     "Isn't this something the FBI, or even the state police can handle? Why are we being called in for this?" Barton added as soon as his partner finished speaking. 

     "Furthermore-" Romanoff continued, only to be cut off by Fury. 

     "ENOUGH!"

     The room went silent, but both assassins were smirking and Fury was on the edge of killing the two of them. 

    "I know as much as you do. The Council handed me this briefing, said "send your best team on it, and we'll handle the mission". Coulson will be there, but the Council will be in charge, that clear?"

     The room was still silent but the smiles were gone, and Fury knew why. He trusted the Council about as much as they did, but they were his bosses, and he couldn't exactly tell them no. 

     "I chose you two because they asked for my best, but also because I know I can trust you two not to be hypnotized by the pretty words and empty promises of the Council. You leave in 13 hours, I suggest you get some sleep. Quinjet leaves at 0400."

 

* * *

 

 

     "Who do you think the target is?" Clint broke the silence on the quinjet a couple minutes after they'd taken off. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

    "I don't speculate, Barton," she reminded him, getting an eye roll in response. She held his gaze seriously for a minute before letting herself smirk. "Which is why I stole _this_ from Fury's office."

     Nat drew a folder from God-knows-where and tossed it agilely at Clint who caught it and began flipping through it. His eyebrows drew lower and lower on his face as he read, and finally Natasha nudged him.

     "So? Who is our target?"

     He looked at her obviously surprised she hadn't looked through the folder, but then a look of understanding passed over his face. Nat preferred to be briefed by Clint or Coulson, and seeing as Coulson was even more in the dark then they were, he wasn't an option. Supposedly, briefing this way helped Nat take in the information. 

     "Well, you're not going to like it," Clint warned, looking fairly mutinous himself. He held up a blurry picture of a girl with loosely curly brown hair, tipped blonde at the end, and warm brown eyes. She was looking into the camera with a mixture of disdain and alertness. It was a familiar facial expression, one Nat had come to think of as "the Assassin". 

     "She's a "hardened killer", according to her file," Clint continued, disgust dripping into his tone. "Over 80 known kills, in her 14 years of working. D'ya think Fury knows that our target is a kid?"

     "I hope not," Nat murmured, sickened thinking of Fury, someone she'd respected, albeit grudgingly, but respected all the same, sending them on a mission to kill a kid who couldn't be more than 21 years old. She made a face and shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure he didn't. I stole the file as soon as it got to his office. He didn't get a chance to notice it. What's her name and affiliation? How'd she get on SHIELD's radar?"

    "Ekaterina Markovic, known as "The Lone Wolf". Affiliation, um, let's see - oh," Clint trailed off, looking at Nat uncertainly. She had been startled by the name, thinking it sounded familiar, and Clint's hesitation had just confirmed her suspicion. 

     "Red Room?" 

     "Suspected; but confirmed KGB at least. Also has ties to Israeli intelligence. Mossad, to be exact. You know her?"

     "Of her. I've heard her name bounced around. Legend has it that she's the illegitimate daughter of Yelena Belova and the ex-director of Mossad. Yelena wasn't supposed to be able to have children, but there have been more surprising anomalies within the Red Room. Yelena didn't want to keep the fetus, but her Israeli boyfriend convinced her to keep it; saying that a child born to two skilled parents like them could be the ultimate weapon, especially if trained from a very early age."

     "And she kept the baby? Sounds like the ultimate set up to me."

     Natasha glared, but ignored her partner 

     "As soon as the baby was born, Yelena walked away, leaving the girl, her daughter, to the Israeli. He took the girl and, according to legend at least, forgot about her and left her outside immediately after her birth, and wolves came in the night and took the baby. Everyone assumed she was dead, but she was such a newborn, that _somehow_ , the wolves took her into their pack. The only thing that kept her human at all was the help of an old Russian woman who lived on the edge of the woods where the pack lived, and who was familiar to the pack. Her father somehow found her by her 4th birthday, and he noticed she could fight like a wolf, but had some limitations, due to her being human. So he brought her to Israel, genetically modified a strand of Wolf DNA, and made it so that it would be accepted by human genetics and inserted it in her. She didn't die, and he began training her from there, until she turned 6, when Belova came back and claimed her daughter, took her back to Russia, and left her in the care of what was left of the Red Room."

     "So basically - let me just get this straight - we're fighting an actual legit teen wolf girl, who has also been tied by blood and trained by two different ninja assassin agencies, from the time she could open her eyes, and neither of us wants to actually hurt her 'cause she's like 12?" Clint asked, his shit-eating face on and smiling. Natasha thought it through for a minute than nodded. Clint chuckled. "Great. Sounds like a piece of cake mission. Should be home by 9, in time for Dog Cops."

     "She's undercover in a school in Southern California," Nat read, stealing the file from Clint's lap and flipping through it. "Not sure who she's working for at the moment, but her alias is Dakota Simmons, aka Lucky, aged 17."

     "Do you remember when she was born?" Clint asked, craning over Natasha's shoulder to look at the file. "You were saying you'd heard stories of her, but do you know how old she is?"

     "I first heard of her maybe a couple years before I defected and joined SHIELD. She would be 16 or 17, I think."

     "Well, let's go talk to this wolf girl"

 

* * *

 

 

     The Girl laughed and chattered with her friends as she trotted down the stairs, her auburn waves loose and eyes bright. From his spot on the roof, across the street with his sniper scope, The Watcher carefully wrote down the date, time, and her location. Closing the book full with similar observations, The Watcher looked through the scope again. Through it he saw a woman with long red hair and a man with sandy hair walking  into the school and stopping her at the stairs. The smile still on her face, she stopped to talk to them, then walked down the hall with them, making The Watcher frown.

 

He would have to watch out for them. They might interfere with his plan.

 

* * *

 

Natalie Rushman walked into St. Thomas Aquinas Collage Preparatory with her fiancé Cole Bristow by her side, and immediately spotted their target. 

"Perfect timing," Clint muttered to Nat, who nodded slightly, but kept her mask in place otherwise. 

"Excuse me!" she called, raising her voice. Dakota, or rather, Ekaterina, stopped and greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hey, how can I help you?" she asked, waving her friends on and telling them something about a deadline. Clint and Natasha exchanged a quick glance. Everything was working out perfectly so far, and it was making the two assassins nervous. 

"Hello, I'm Natalie, this is my fiancée Cole. We're interested in this school for Cole's daughter, Kate? We were hoping we could get some student feedback," Natasha lied smoothly. Ekaterina nodded and waved for them to follow her.

"Do you mind following me to the library?" she asked. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on it until the librarian gets back from her lunch break."

As they strolled down the hall behind her, the assassins studied the young girl. Her hair was tinted with red, making look a natural auburn, close to Natasha's color. She was wearing hazel contacts, barely noticeable. She carried herself lightly, with the ease and grace of a dancer, or gymnast. 

They entered the library and sat at a table, and Ekaterina held her hand out with a sweet smile.

"Sorry, I didn't get to introduce myself earlier. I'm Katerina Markovic, known as the Lone Wolf, and you're the Black Widow and you're Hawkeye."

The assassins exchanged a barely perceptible look, making Katerina sigh and shake her head in amusement.

"C'mon, you guys honestly thought I didn't do my research? I'm better than that. Your intel is crap. Anyways, I'm glad you guys are here, though I'm a little confused as to how you found me. There's going to be an attack here soon."

Clint and Natasha exchanged noticeable glances this time and looked at Katerina in confusion. Finally Tasha spoke.

"Yes, we know. That is why we are here."

Katerina looked between them as understanding dawned on her face. Her mouth hung slightly agape and she choked out a strangled laugh.

  
_"Bozhe moi."_ she breathed. "Your intel really _is_  shit. You guys were sent to stop me? I defected months ago; I'm here on my own. I'm here to _stop_ the attack."


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strike Team: Delta has to think on the spot, and last time Clint did that, he came home with a Russian stray. They do say history repeats itself....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright. Thank you for the kudos and the comment :) I do not own Clint or Nat, but Kat is mine. This is set about 2 years before the Avengers. I have a sequel set shortly after CATWS, and im also working on that, so the good news is it will be posted shortly after i finish this. Bad news is updates are still touch and go. 
> 
> Please review and tell me what you did and did't like so i can improve :)

 "What?!" the assassins exclaimed in unison. Then, seemingly recovering himself, Clint fixed Katerina with a steely glare. 

 "Got any proof of that, girly-girl?" Clint practically growled, crossing his arms over his chest, air thick with hostility. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. 

        "Would I have let you guys corner me alone if I was planning on blowing up the school? Would I have dropped my cover?" Katerina shrugged again. "It's not a lot, but if you take me in and ignore the actual threat, this school will still blow up, and you guys still won't get The Watcher."

        "The who?" Clint spluttered, turning to look at a strangely quiet Natasha. She was deep in thought, and Clint didn't blame her. So far, this girl had been right, and their intel had been complete shit, even more so than usual. 

 "The Watcher. He's a very dangerous, psychopathic serial killer, who I _thought_ was your target. He's unpredictable, which is what makes him so dangerous. His MO is that he has no MO, and it makes it nearly impossible to stop him. His only consistency is his tendency to watch his next target for weeks, and proof of his targeting this school has been found."

 "Why don't they evac then?" Nat finally spoke, albeit quietly. "If they know this is his next target? And what is the proof?"

 "The Watcher, true to his psychopathic nature, plays games with the authorities. He calls the police to report his next crime months before it ever happens. The thing is, if they try to evacuate or show any other signs of stopping him, he'll blow the whole city up. According to him, he has detonation points all over the city, and no one is willing to call his bluff. One touch of a button and the entire city goes boom."

 "Why didn't the Council give us this information?" Clint murmured quietly to Nat. "You think they didn't believe it was him?"

 "Oh, they know I'm not the honest perpetrator," Katerina assured him. "They just really want me dead. Of course if you ask, they'll tell you they thought it was me, but they know of the Watcher."

 "How the hell did you hear that?" Clint gaped at the girl standing 5 feet in front of them. She grinned and tapped her ears.

  "Enhanced genetics. I got wolf ears."  

        "Must be nice," Clint muttered tapping his own ears and wincing at the noise it made in his SHIELD issue hearing aid. "I got 80% hearing loss."

        At some point in the exchange, Nat had taken hold of Clint's hand, and she now applied pressure to it, causing him to look up at her. She caught his eye, and they had a seemingly silent conversation, ending with Clint nodding. The assassins turned back to Katerina who had an eyebrow raised and was looking back and forth between them.

 "How about we make you a deal," Nat said, ignoring the teen's muttered _that is so creepy_ and rolling over her said: "We help you out with this Watcher, and we trust you're telling the truth, and when it's all over, you come with us and become a SHIELD agent." 

 It was silent now, but Katerina still had her eyebrow raised. Any trace of laughter was gone from her face, and she had a slightly bitter expression.

 "'Become a SHIELD agent'" she echoed, giving a very bitter laugh. "Either you're still intent on completing your mission to take me out, or you're naive. SHIELD has a bounty on my head; I have a kill order on me."

 "So did I once," Nat pointed out, shrugging. "I'm not going to tell you it's easy, but it is possible."

 "I know," Katerina said shyly. At the confused look the two gave her, she shrugged, tugging at her hair. "Why do you think I defected? I heard stories about the Black Widow and how 'she had gotten brainwashed by those fucking Americans' and defected. I figured if one of the Room could get out, maybe another could."

 "The Room," Tasha said suddenly. "It's still operational?"

 "Uh, yeah. They slowed it for a while, stopped recruiting so many girls, but it's always been completely operational."

 "When you come back with us," Clint began, ignoring the eye roll that he received from Katerina. "When you come in, they're going to ask you why they should accept you. They know about your skills as the Wolf already, don't tell them that. Tell then what information you know."

 Katerina didn't protest, and Clint took that as a win, turning to Tasha with a grin. She shook her head in amusement, but turned to look at the girl in front of them.

 "What's the plan?" Nat asked, giving her full attention to Katerina. The girl took a deep breath and began to speak. 


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio of trouble begins their plan, Clint and Natasha find out some unexpected information about their adoptee, and Clint takes it worse than Natasha. Also, the Watcher is hella creepy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my last prewritten chapter, so updates will come less now, sorry :( also, I know a lot of this is impossible or improbible, but it's fun to write, so bear with me? 
> 
> there's a little Iron Man reference in there...in my personal headcanon, this is where Nat got the quote from :)  
> This work is COMPLETELY unbeta'd
> 
> Kat is mine. Also any mistakes are mine. That's all
> 
> Enjoy and review :)

The Watcher was anxious. Something was off. The Girl was restless, but she was stronger than before. She was up to something, and it had to do with the arrival of that couple. The woman with the fire hair and her sandy haired companion. It started and ended with them. 

 

It began the week she met them. She bounded up the stairs with a smirk. It stayed on her beautiful face all week, and through his audio hacks, he heard her brush off her friends' inquiries. 

 

 The pair showed up next week as well, and The Girl got into their BMW and drove off with them. The Watcher was severely displeased with the deviation from her routine. He wasn't able to watch her when she wasn't where she was supposed to be. He debated teaching her a lesson. He figured the town could do without one of its fire departments, and there was a _fantastic_ detonation point in the south station. He pressed the button.

 

He was satisfied, the next day, when she walked in and there was no smile on her face. Maybe now, she'd understand not to mess with him.

 

But then she walked in the next week, and she 83 minutes late, _and_ grinning. To make matters worse, she walked in with the red haired woman, and their companion, the cheeky male, dropped them off in the BMW. He was so distracted he almost didn't notice the helicopter circling the area. As it was they may have caught a glance of him. He had to leave his spot early, and almost considered getting a new one, before deciding he wouldn't let them win. 

 

They were messing everything up. 

 

* * *

 

"Good news, girls," Clint's voice crackled in their ears. "Lucky" was giving "Natalie" a tour of the school. After the third week, when there began to be signs of the Watcher's aggravation, Clint started to feel it was dangerous for Kat (as he had promptly dubbed her) to be at school by herself, especially surrounded by civilians. "This Watcher dude is getting antsy and distracted. We got a glimpse of him in the chopper today. Phase 3 starts tomorrow."

 Kat led Tasha into an empty classroom so they could talk to Clint on the comms without worrying about being overheard.

 Copy," she said shortly, her features tense. She ignored Nat's concerned glance and paced a couple steps. "Phase 3 is a go."

 "You alright?" Nat asked her softly, making Kat shrug. "This next phase is risky, and it focuses on you. If you don't feel secure we can change -" 

 "I'm _fine_  Natiya," Kat snapped, showing the Russian in her for the first time as the nickname dropped easily from her lips. She sighed apologetically. "Sorry. I'm just - I feel like this is all a set up. The Watcher's target isn't the school, it's _me_. I'm almost certain."

 "That may be, but we've already thrown him off his game. You are so strong, Katya," Nat gave the girl a small smile and tucked a lock of dyed auburn hair behind Kat's ear in a rare show of tenderness. "We'll be right here if you need us, but you are strong. You're only how old? 17?"

 "Try 12," Kat said, biting her lip shyly. "But I'll be 13 in like 2 weeks."

 "TWELVE!?" Clint yelled, making both women flinch and press a hand to their ears. 

 "My ears, мой ястреб," Natasha reprimanded. "My ears."

 "HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU TWELVE?!" Clint continued. "YOU CAN'T BE TWELVE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE AT LEAST 17."

 "Fallaces sunt rerum species, et hominum spes fallunt," Kat shrugged. "'Appearances are deceptive and betray the hopes of men'."

 "I like that," Nat said, leading the way out of the classroom they'd been hiding out in. "'Appearances are deceptive and betray the hopes of men'. Hmm."

 "How are you _twelve_?" Clint was still muttering over the comms, making Kat stop Nat before they could exit the room. 

 "Almost 13," Kat said defensively. Nat snorted, and Kat sighed. "Can we _please_  focus on the mission?"

 "Let's set up for phase 3," Natasha agreed, and with that, Natasha and Ekaterina disappeared and became Natalie and Lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> мой ястреб - my hawk (according to google)
> 
> sorry for any language mistakes, and sorry the chapters are shorter right now. They seem long when im writing!


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phase Three goes into effect, though, if it went smoothly, it wouldn't be a Strike Team: Delta mission. Kat has difficulties with becoming attached on the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this took so long! Im low on inspiration, so please, leave me a review :)

The next day, the Watcher was back in his spot and he was happy to notice, The Girl was there, on time and all alone. The Watcher smiled to himself; a grim, savage smirk. It was time.

 

* * *

 

       "Widow to Wolf, Phase 3 is in motion, over."

       "Wolf to Widow, copy. Over"

       In the girls bathroom, Kat sighed and fixed her St. Thomas Aquinas uniform before exiting and pasting a smile on her face as her friend Alexis Lanza passed by.

       "Hey Lucks!" Alexis said, falling into step next to Kat. Kat gave her a one armed hug and they headed up the staircase to the Psychology 101 classroom.

       "Hey Lex. Ready for the Psych test?" she asked distractedly, scanning the school for any danger as they walked through.

       "Yeah, should be a breeze," Alexis shrugged. "Lucky" hummed in agreement, making Lexi, one of her more observant friends, frown. "Are you alright, Lucky?"

       "What?" Kat asked, startled. Thinking quickly, she heaved a large sigh. "Yeah, just stressed. You know how it is, with parents and grades."

       Alexis nodded, seemingly satisfied with her explanation, and Kat checked her watch worriedly. Phase 3 was set to end in 5 minutes, and it ended with a bang. As much as Kat was a feared assassin, and as much as she had worked at not becoming attached, she was a 12 year old girl inside, and she adored Alexis who, in another universe, might’ve been the sister she’d never had.

       “Hey Lexi, can you do me a favor?” “Lucky” asked her friend who nodded agreeably and both girls paused their trek across the school. 

      “Can you get my Psych book from my locker?” she asked, hoping Lex hadn’t seen the textbook in her messenger bag, currently slung across her shoulder.  Alexis bit her lip, and Kat knew why. Their lockers were a 5 minute jog from where they were, and they barely made it to class on time on normal days. If Alexis went back, she’d be late to class. Of course, this was what Kat was going for, but she couldn’t outright tell Alexis why. “I’d go myself, but I sprained my ankle yesterday and Mr. West said we need our books. I’ll tell him where you went, he won’t mark you tardy. He’s the chilliest teacher at STACP.”

      “Okay,” Lexi gave in finally, and Kat let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief. “Tell him why, okay? I don’t want a tardy on my record!”

After Kat had promised she would, Alexis jogged away, leaving Kat behind wondering what it was like to have a school record be the most troubling thing in life. Kat walked towards the field, now counting down from 120 seconds. It was stupid and sentimental, but Kat didn’t want anyone innocent to get hurt when everything happened. Speaking of, Kat’s countdown was at 10…9…

Looking around, Kat sent a silent thank you prayer to a god she didn’t even believe in for clearing out the field. Defecting had really made her soft. 

3...2...1

        There was an explosion in the shed behind Kat, and before everything went dark, Kat registered panic flooding through her body. This was _not_ part of the plan.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize how short this is. Again, my apologies, and please, inspire me :)


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Fury exchange some words, and Kat tells about her encounter with the Watcher, and what went wrong with phase 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI! Thanks to everyone who has kept up with this story, bless all of you :) I realize there isn't much Avengers interaction YET, but it will come, I promise.
> 
> I also have a couple of AUs I'm considering posting, one that's a foster kids AU with many many marvel kids, and one thats a movie star AU with the agents of shield people. Tell me which, if either, you guys are more interested in.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks Again!!!

 

      "Whenever you're ready, Ms. Markovic," Fury prompted, somehow managing to look commanding in the uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs. 

      Out of her peripheral vision, Kat could see the white of the bandage that covered the stitches on her eyebrow, and it was pissing her off. She was on crutches, her entire right leg in a white cast, and a white bandage on her left arm covering 3 or 4 different gashes. Her head hurt, she was handcuffed to the hospital cot and the blatant white-ness of the infirmary was _not_ helping. 

     "Why is everything so _white_?" Kat asked finally. Clint snorted, but quickly quieted as Fury gave him a glare. Clint was sleeping in a corner, on one of the god-awful chairs, but every so often he would raise his head to look with worry at where Nat lay motionless, in the cot next to Kat. "It's giving me a headache."

     "I'm pretty sure that's the concussion," Fury disagreed. "Ekaterina. I need you to tell me what went wrong."

      

* * *

 

_Kat opened her eyes and looked around. Her vision was blurry, and her lungs were filled with smoke, but in her ear she heard Natasha's voice, calling for her status._

 

_"I'm alright, but something is not right," Kat bit out, attempting to ward off the headache she felt coming. "That wasn't a part of the plan."_

_"Affirmative. Clint's going to retrieve the target," Natasha assured her. "But be on alert. Like you said, this wasn't how things were supposed to go."_

 

* * *

  
_"_ What _was_ supposed to happen?" Fury interrupted, looking at Kat over his recorder. "If that wasn't the plan, what was?"

     "We were expecting the target to charge at me," Kat explained. "A personal attack. Perhaps he would attempt to kidnap me, or even just kill me. We just thought he would get off his roof and come out to play."

     "But he didn't?"

     "No. Well not _exactly_ , anyway."

 

* * *

 

_"Copy that," Kat muttered. "I gotta get out of here before students and teachers arrive and start asking question. Or worse, summon the authorities."_

_"Meet me and Clint at rendezvous point 1."_

_"Copy," Kat shot back, and attempted to stand up. Her ankle throbbed, and Kat was pretty sure it was fractured, but it wasn't the time to give in to the pain, so she hobbled towards the bushes that marked the edge of the school._

_"Katya, do you copy?" Nat's voice crackled in her ear as she was about halfway across the field. Panting from exertion, Kat sighed._

_"Affirmative."_

_"Clint didn't find the target at the location," Natasha warned. "Be on high alert, all signs indicate he's on his way to your location. Clint and I are on the way. We'll follow behind you to the rendezvous point."_

_"Copy," Kat gritted out, scanning her surroundings and picking up her pace. As she pushed through the bushes she could see figures through the smoke, but she couldn't tell if they were teachers and students, or if the Watcher was there._

_She was about a half mile from the safe-house when he appeared; suddenly standing in her path, a gun pointed at her heart._

_"Hello, Lucky," he said serenely, and Kat's heart jumped in her throat. Of all the monsters she had spent time with, made love to, seduced to kill, or worked with, the Watcher topped them all. With anyone else, she could find a weakness, could almost sense it with her enhanced senses, thanks to the Red Room. Like a canine, Kat could register the emotion rolling off people. But with the serial killer who stood in front of her messed her up. His psychopathic manner meant she couldn't get a proper read on him. She was fighting blind._

_From somewhere off to her left, Kat could tell Clint and Natasha had arrived, 30 seconds too late. If she had registered their presence, it meant that the Watcher knew they were there too, which diminished her relief at seeing them. They were still at a disadvantage with the Watcher, his emotionless demeanor making him a formidable enemy._

_"Is it ok for me to call you Lucky? I know you prefer that to Dakota. Or Simmons. I know lots of things about you Lucky. I know you eat a sandwich and a bag of chips every day for lunch, because that's what you can afford from the cafeteria. I know you love the purple Gatorade, but you hate the orange one. I know you live at a foster home, and that its 3 blocks away from your school. I know many things, Lucky. I know you're not what you seem."_

_His voice had gotten quiet now; almost menacing. He was walking towards her, and Kat couldn't resist the urge to step back. It was the first time she had gotten a good look at the Watcher, and he looked like any one of the neighbors in Kat's current neighborhood. Thinning brown hair and a rounding face and figure. The only thing that seemed off on him was his eyes, pale blue orbs, lit with a sort of psychopathy._

_"I know you're not who you say."_

 

_"I know what you're hiding."_

_With that, the Watcher shot Kat in the right thigh, and as she collapsed she saw him shoot at Clint and Nat twice, then draw a grenade from his jacket and throw it in their direction. Satisfied that they were occupied, the Watcher began stalking towards Kat, who had yelped as the grenade, (a smoke grenade, but not entirely harmless) had exploded, and from where the young girl lay frozen on the dirt, she began hyperventilating. She had been trained to resist torture, but this man was a whole new level of terrifying. He reached down to grab Kat, and as she steeled herself for what came next, a shot rang out._

_The Watcher fell forward, towards Kat, but through her haze of shock and pain Kat managed to throw a hand up with just enough force that he landed on the dirt beside her, eyes glazed and dark crimson liquid flowing out of his skull; the same liquid that was pouring out of her leg, making everything slow and fuzzy. Through the blurry vision, Kat made out Clint's figure, lowering a gun and lowering himself to crouch over Natasha._

_Colors and feeling and sounds and a ringing in Kat's head began to blend and grow and overwhelm her senses. Through it all she could hear Clint: "need--extraction--agent down--Natasha--trouble--asset--bleeding--SHIELD--fuck y--can't let her bleed--dammit Coulson--"_

_And then she fell into an almost blissful darkness as a helicopter made a rocky landing beside them._

* * *

_  
_   


 

  
   "And then I woke up here," Kat finished wearily. Her eyelids had started to feel awfully heavy, and her head was throbbing, and she honestly didn't care if SHIELD exterminated her now, all Kat wanted was sleep. "Handcuffed and surrounded by a sickening white."

      Through her exhaustion, Kat turned her head to look at the cot next to her, where Natasha lay, pale and small and fragile, with Clint at her side. Kat had woken up to a hushed argument between Clint and his boss that had gone something along the lines of: "Clint-I-don't-care- _how_ -young-or-injured-this-target-is-she-needs-to-be-in-containment." and "fuck-you-Fury-she's-an-asset-and-she's-Strike-Team-Delta's-asset-and-will-stay-here-with-me-for-fucks-sake-Fury-she's-twelve."

      "Almost 13," she had groused, which had led to Fury demanding she give him the full story of what happened, over Clint's queries of concern for her well being. She had ignored them both to ask why Natasha was in a coma. Apparently, she had been shot twice, and then had seen the grenade coming and had shielded Clint. 

      "Anything more to add to your statement, Ms. Markovic?" Fury asked now, drawing Kat out of her thoughts. Kat yawned and nodded.

      "Yeah. Leave me the fuck alone and let me sleep."

      The last thing Kat heard before drifting off was Clint snorting and saying: "She told you, Fury." She let the darkness overwhelm her again, knowing that Clint would watch her six, and wondering when she had come to that conclusion.

 


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson shows up, Maria Hill finds out, Clint kidnaps Tasha and Kat, and learns a little about the Norse berserkers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick note, the berserkers are legitamitely a thing. look it up.
> 
> The chapter is sorta short, but very dense. My apologies.
> 
> hit me up with fanart or prompts on tumblr at marvelousbecketts.tumblr.com  
> (if someone can tell me how to link that, I'll be eternally grateful)
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://marvelousbecketts.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D>)

 

     "Well?"

    "Well _what_?" Nick Fury snapped at his close friend and employee, Phil Coulson. For one, Phil wouldn't get offended by Nick's abrasive moods, and two, he sounded too excited for whatever it was he was asking about. 

     "What are your thoughts on Natasha's new stray?" Phil pressed as they turned a corner towards the Director's office. "Is she even going to be accepted into SHIELD?"

     Fury said nothing, opening the door to his office and striding in purposefully. Behind him he heard Phil plop onto his office couch and sigh as he relaxed. 

     "You know if SHIELD admits her, she won't just be Barton and Romanoff's stray," Fury warned, though it did nothing to remove the exited expression from his face. 

     "She'll be mine too, yeah I got it," Phil dismissed, waving his hand in the air carelessly. Swinging his legs sideways so they were stretched out on the couch, he gave Fury a look. "Are you gonna bring the girl in or not?"

     "I think so," Fury admitted grudgingly. A smirk grew on Coulson's face as he realized he might soon have a new kid to adopt, and this one was actually a kid. "We'll start taking the steps anyway. Haven't finished interviewing her yet, but her debrief matched Clint's, so it's a start. We'll go through the admissions process once she gets out of the hospital."

     Phil's smirk stayed in place and he looked incredibly pleased with the new development. He had visited Nat and Clint in the hospital while she was unconscious, and thus had gotten a glimpse of her, but the psychologist at the hospital warned them not to expose her to a lot of unknown people while she was recovering. 

     "Is it true?" Maria asked, breaking the peace in the office as she threw the door open, smacked Coulson on the head with a file she held in her hand and stomped in. Fury looked at her calmly and raised an eyebrow. "Did Delta bring in a KGB kid? And are we making her a SHIELD agent?"

      "Delta brought in a young asset, yes," Fury told his second in command, who pinched the bridge of her nose exasperatedly. "We're still working at admitting her."

     "God help us all," Maria sighed, sweeping back out of the office, on her way to go terrorize some recruits. They heard her greet Agent Anderson as she left, and sure enough, he knocked on the office door a few moments later. 

      "Come in, Anderson," Fury called, and the agent entered with a trepidatious look on his face. The director and the handler exchanged a glance before giving their attention to Anderson before them. 

       "Director...," Anderson trailed off anxiously, looking at them. "There's been a series of incidents at the med bay."

       " _What_ , exactly, happened?" Fury asked, his voice dangerously low. "Does it have to do with the tiny Russian we have chained to a hospital cot?" 

       "Had, sir," Anderson corrected, biting his lip nervously. "The Markovic girl was just spotted leaving the med bay sir. She was with agents Romanoff and Barton. They went to the car lot, and then twenty minutes later, a car was found missing. The nav system is disabled, of course, so we don't know where they are, or how they snuck the car out. Agent Barton answered his cell briefly to say he wanted to talk to Agent Coulson before hanging up."

      "Well, Maria was right again," Phil piped up from the couch. "God help us all, indeed."

 

* * *

 

     "Hey, Dr. Rosen, it's Barton. Yeah. She _disappeared_? Weird, I have her sitting in the backseat of my car," Clint held the phone away from his face, but close enough that they could hear him say: "Kat, they said you disappeared. Ain't that weird? Nah, she's still here, Rosen, sorry to disappoint. I wanna talk to Phil, alright? I'll call later."

      With that, Clint hung up the phone, waking Natasha up again. He had previously woken her up to get her into the car lot, but she had fallen back asleep after 5 minutes. It had been Clint's idea to get out of the Med Bay, and from the argument she had woken up to previously, Kat was pretty sure it was because he was worried that she would be taken into the holding cells. She had cracked the cuffs easy, but it was sweet that he was going through all this trouble for her. She had been worried about Natasha and the state she was in, but then Nat had woken up and solved that problem for them by telling them they were leaving. 

      "What happened?" Nat asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and gingerly avoiding moving her left side. Clint gave her a smile and filled her in on the call, and Nat just nodded before falling back asleep. 

      "Is it safe to move her like this?" Kat asked, curled up in the back seat. Clint met her eyes in the mirror and shrugged. 

      "I don't know if safe is the right word exactly, but we've done this before, if that helps," Clint offered with a grin. Before Kat could respond his phone rang, and Clint tossed the phone back to Kat. "Can you answer? Really don't wanna get pulled over."

       "Markovic," Kat answered, making sure any hesitation she felt was masked. There was a brief silence over the phone and Kat could tell that they hadn't expected _her_ to answer. 

       "What the hell is going on, Markovic?" Fury's voice filled the speaker. "We leave you guys alone, to _sleep_ as I recall, and half an hour later, you're gone."

     "Well, I kidnapped Agents Barton and Romanova," Kat responded, voice deadpan. She was met with silence from the director. "Anyway, Clint requested to speak to an Agent Coulson, and I happen to know that is _not_ you."

     "Sweet information retainment," Clint marveled from the front seat. "I didn't even say that _to you_ , nice job!"

       Kat rolled her eyes at him as a new, friendlier voice filled the car. 

      "Clint? What's happening?" Coulson asked, and Clint relaxed as he heard the voice of his handler. Another voice filtered through the phone, albeit faintly, telling Fury that the call was untraceable. 

       "Aww, Kat they don't trust us," Clint whined, and Kat rolled her eyes again, muttering an _"I should hope not_ ". "Kat and Tasha did some weird thing with the phone, you're not going to be able to trace the phone. We're just gonna heal off base, we'll come back, I swear."

      "Barton-"

      "Uh oh, I think we're losing connection, you're breaking up!" Clint called, making wild hand gestures to Kat. She dragged the phone along the leather seat and hit the microphone with her finger before hanging up. Clint grinned and reached back for a high five.

      "Quick thinking. I like it."

 

* * *

 

      "So what _actually_ happens when you Wolf out?" Clint asked as he wove his way around piles of stuff in an attempt to get to where Kat was sitting, at the kitchen island. He had just put Nat in their bedroom and left her to rest, and now he sat across the island from Kat, who shrugged cautiously. 

        "It's extremely weird and complicated. And a really long story," she deflected, eyeing Clint, who shrugged back. "I'm serious, it's weird."

       "So am I," Clint chuckled, leaning towards her. "C'mon. I've got all night, and we're just hanging out until you and Nat get better anyway. Hit me with it."

       "Have you heard of the Viking berserkers?" Kat gave in finally, and Clint shook his head, implying that he hadn't. "The Berserkers were old Norse warriors that fought in a trance-like state, and they were said to be Odin's warriors. They often went into battle wearing wolf pelts and such, but their psychosis was caused by a type of crazy ass mental illness. It's said that they could just snap into the berserker mindset, and they'd go to fight and feel no pain; if they got stabbed or burned, they'd just keep going. It made them incredible fighters. They're physical condition was completely the same, but mentally, they became invincible, and it _worked_. They were, _virtually invincible_."

       "And that's what your Wolfing is like?" Clint asked after a moment, digesting the information he had received. She nodded, but made a "meh" gesture with her hand. 

      "Pretty much. It's not really physical, though my genetics have been enhanced to keep up with the wolf coding. But my conditioning with the Red Room was mostly learning how to snap in and out of the mindset I learned with the pack," Kat shrugged, but a smile tugged at her lips at the mention of the pack. "They did add to my DNA coding though, to make me more wolf. I'm faster, and stronger, but the really cool thing, are my eyes. They're brown now, right? When I snap, they turn _gold._ Someone showed me a picture once. It's hella cool."

       Clint just looked at her for a minute, trying to decide whether or not she was fucking with him. But her features were so earnest and as innocent as an assassin can get that he decided to believe this twelve year old ninja that had managed to fall asleep on the kitchen counter. Grinning, Clint moved her gently to the couch and covered her with a blanket before crawling into bed, where a sleeping Tasha snuggled into him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now time to address IM2...need to rewatch it first :/


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha gets called away, and Kat makes some decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait, and sorry this is very short! on the upside, I will hopefully have a new chapter up soon. Please please review and give feedback to tell me how to improve :)

"Dammit. Phil, you know she ain't gonna like this."

     Clint had been pacing around the small living room of his and Natasha's Upper West Side Manhattan apartment while angrily talking on the phone for the last 45 minutes, and Kat sat at the kitchen island with a bowl of cereal, watching him silently. 

      "No, I know - 'orders are orders' - but, dammit! She's only just recovered," pause, "yeah, I'll tell her, but I'm not responsible for her reaction."

      Clint hung up and threw the phone into the couch with more force than necessary. Grabbing a bowl and dumping some cereal and milk into it, he slid onto a stool next to Kat, softening a bit as he did. 

      "Nat got called in?" Kat guessed after a small silence. Clint nodded, his mouth tightening in displeasure. Kat frowned. "She was shot _twice_ less than a month ago."

      "That's what I told them," Clint seethed, playing with his food moodily. "They said she should be medically okay already, with the whole 'enhanced genetics' shit going. And _technically_ she is; she's pretty much healed, but it's still a little quick to send her off on a deep cover."

       "Who's going on a deep cover?" Natasha asked breathlessly as she came through the door, sweaty and tired. She had gone on a jog, and both of her companions had refused to join her, so she had gone longer than she normally might've with a healing injury. She took in Clint and Kat, and their sullen faces and sighed. "Phil called us in already?"

       "Phil called _you_ in already," Clint told her, still frowning at his food. Natasha smiled softly at him, and she touched his cheek as she walked past him on her way to the shower. 

      Kat finished her bowl of cereal, washed it, and stood in the kitchen awkwardly. On one hand, she didn't want to be rude and leave Clint alone, but on the other hand she was _exhausted_ from keeping up her "normal"  facade. When she'd met Clint and Natasha, she'd been high on adrenaline, thinking about doing something good for once and finally being safe from the Room, and it had made her forget her situation for a while. She'd been so deep in cover that she had acted more like Lucky, a normal foster kid, than Kat, assassin and weapon of the Red Room. She'd been acting like a normal teen for almost 3 months at this point, hoping that Clint and Natasha wouldn't decide she was too much trouble and dump her on the side of the road somewhere or follow through with their original kill order after all. But being perky and all that shit for months on end was very difficult, especially for someone as socially ostracized as Kat. As the days went on, more and more of Kat slipped through her mask, and Kat was scared that they'd decide they didn't want to help her after all. After a moment of deliberation, Kat slipped into the small guest room that Nat and Clint had given her. 

      Kat couldn't keep this up. It was exhausting and she was constantly terrified that they could see through her. They had already gotten her away from the Red Room, therefore removing her from their arsenal, and perhaps setting the Soviets back a few steps. Why would they need to keep her? They had plenty of heroes and villains alike working for SHIELD; her talent wasn't in demand. Sooner or later, Fury would decide she was more trouble than she was worth and have the duo exterminate her like they should've in the first place. There was really only one option that kept Kat safe, and biting her lip, she decided to take it. She would have to ditch Strike Team: Delta, and drop off the grid. Get herself a new identity and start over. 

      She carefully pulled the backpack Natasha had given her out from under her bed, careful not to be loud enough for Natasha, who was showering in the next room, to hear her. Hesitating, she stuffed a couple pairs of clothes into it, and bit her lip again, before resuming her packing. She felt a little guilty that they had bought her clothes and other items, only for her to run off with it, but what was guilt to someone who had been killing by the age of 4? Just another emotion, too dangerous to meddle with. She added a travel size hygiene kit, her new iPod and her weapons, zipped the bag shut and tossed it under the bed again. Grabbing her wallet from her bedside table, she counted the various bills she had been given over the last few months, (again pushing away that odd guilty feeling), and counted it. 64 dollars and 98 cents would probably get her to the New York border before she'd have to start working to live. She added the wallet to her backpack and re-entered the living room.

       Kat and Clint were immersed with Dog Cops by the time Natasha finished her shower and stalked into the kitchen, on the phone with Coulson. She wasn't as pissed as Clint had been, but she seemed annoyed.

       "It's not that I have to work, Phil, it's who I'm working with!" Nat explained, opening the fridge and grabbing a couple eggs. "He's a pain in the ass! _I_ might end up killing him myself! How long am I going to be stuck with him?"

        "Who's she working with?" Kat asked Clint quietly. He grimaced and paused the show, turning to watch Natasha instead, mirrored by Kat.

       "You've heard of Stark Industries?" Clint answered finally, also quiet, so as not to disturb Natasha's conversation. At Kat's nod he sighed. "She's watching the man himself. Tony Stark: pain in all of our asses, but _genius_ pain in our asses. He's helpful, when he wants to be, so we keep an eye on him, protect him when needed. Often from himself, but all in a day's work. Or, based on Phil and Nat's conversation, all in a few weeks work." 

       Kat was sorry that Natasha had to babysit the genius, but it also worked out better for her if Natasha wasn't immediately aware of Kat's departure. Sure, Clint was an amazing agent and tracker, but he wasn't as skilled without his other half. If Tasha wasn't able to chase after her, Kat might actually be able to escape before they realized she was worthless to them and killed her. 

      "He's a paranoid genius Phil, but I'm the best. I'll get it done," Natasha sighed easily, coming into the living room and plopping onto the recliner perpendicular to Kat and Clint's couch. She hung up and looked at the pair. "I gotta go in like 5 minutes. Ugh, Stark. This is going to be a great week."

      Kat bid Natasha an awkward "good luck", and left the room so Clint and Natasha could say their private goodbyes. Kat pulled the backpack from under the bed and looked at it. With Natasha leaving, Clint would likely assume that Kat was just locked up in her room, worrying about her, and would thus leave her alone. And Natasha would be in a briefing until she had to leave, and if Clint managed to tell her before she left, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Kat quickly pulled on a pair of dark wash jeans, a plain black t-shirt with a red Henley underneath, and a fuzzy purple winter coat.Sighing, Kat stuffed a black beanie on her head and tan hiking boots on her feet, shouldered her backpack and hopped out of the window, lowering herself gently onto the fire escape. Kat continued down the building like this, only pausing to hide as Natasha's motorcycle zoomed down the street on her way to SHIELD, until she hit the ground, 8 stories below the apartment. Kat took a moment to gaze up at her window, way up on the 8th floor.

       "No time like the present, I suppose," she sighed, heading down the street, away from the Bed-Stuy neighborhood. She put her earbuds in and pressed play on her playlist, an eclectic collection of rock and jazz, with some punk pop mixed in. Stuffing her iPod into her pocket, she continued her walk north, attracting a few cat calls and whistles, but nothing unexpected. She was a 13-year-old kid walking around a shady New York neighborhood all by herself; Kat would've been more surprised if no one had said anything.

       Kat walked through the afternoon, until she was out of Bed-Stuy and had reached a youth hostel in a nicer area. She checked in under the name Lucky Barton (sue her, she enjoyed a good, close chase), and fell into a light, restless sleep. 

 

* * *

 

     " _What_ happened?" Natasha hissed, and Clint could almost imagine her on the Helicarrier, pacing menacingly across the cargo hold. Clint winced at the image.

     "I lost the kid," Clint admitted, kicking the wall in frustration. "Dammit! Here I was thinking everything was fine, and she's been out there for God-knows-how-long, doing God-knows-what. Fuck!"

     "Clint, hush," Natasha soothed quietly. Clint fell onto Kat's bed with a sigh, and he picked up the picture on the nightstand to look at it. It was of the three of them wrestling playfully, taken by Kate with an old Polaroid camera Clint had found while cleaning. He remembered the day clearly. They'd been cleaning, and it'd somehow devolved into a massive, three-way wrestling match, and Kate had come over to meet Katerina, (whom she called "the other Kate"), and upon finding them on the ground, had grabbed the Polaroid and snapped a pic. Looking at it now, Clint smiled, but it was bitter and tired.

       "It's not your fault," Natasha was saying. "We don't know why she left. Maybe she just wanted some fresh air, and she got lost, walking around?" 

       "Unlikely. The kid's a renowned assassin," Clint grumbled, pushing himself into a standing position. It was unusual for Nat to be the optimist and for him to be the realist, but he appreciated Natasha trying to cheer him up. "I highly doubt she's lost, but I wish that was it. I'm going to make copies of a photo I have of Kat and give it to Katie. Hopefully she or one of her friends will come across the kid."

       "Careful who this spreads to, Clint. Katya already has the Room trying to find her. I don't want anyone suspicious to know she's all on her own tonight," Natasha warned. Clint made a noise of agreement. "I have to go, we're landing soon, and I've got to prep. Keep me updated though."

      Clint agreed and hung up, letting his head fall into his hands. If this reached Coulson's ears, Clint would be screwed to hell. Heaving a sigh, Clint grabbed the phone again and dialed a new number.

      "Hey Katie-Kate, can you come over before you go and patrol New York? Need your help with something big. Great; bring a pizza. Please."


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate Bishop comes to help, and Kat interrupts Natasha's mission

"No no Barton. I want to make sure I've got this all straight," Kate put a hand up as Clint tried to shush her again. "You had the Other Kate for _three months_ , thought it was going great, and it turns out she was plotting her escape the whole time?"

       " _Yes_ , Katie. I had no clue. Even Nat wasn't that convincing when it came to joining SHIELD. I legitimately thought she wanted it," Clint sighed and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. Kate munched on a piece of pizza thoughtfully, looking at the Polaroid she'd taken. 

        "I don't think she was faking it," Kate decided, standing up and dusting herself off. From his position on the floor, Clint grabbed a new slice, fixed her with an inquisitive stare and waited for her to elaborate. She did so as she gave Lucky a slice of pizza. "I met her too, and I'm not as good as you or Natasha, but she seemed pretty damn sincere. I think she's just scared. Think about it, all she's ever known is person after person in a shitty organization screwing her over. Then, she finally gets free and goes to redeem herself, only to be approached by a pair of assassins who originally plan to kill her, but then decide to bring her to _their_  top secret organization. I'd be scared shitless too."

         "I guess," Clint shrugged, but he could see Kate's logic, and it gave him a little hope that maybe everything would be ok after all. "You think she just got scared that we were gonna get her into something worse than what she ran away from?" 

        "Or maybe that you were going to change your mind and dump her somewhere, all by her lonesome," Kate offered, suiting up and grabbing her quiver. "Whaddya say, Hawkeye? Wanna come with me? You up for some action?"

         "Let's go, Hawkeye."

 

* * *

 

        "Name?"

        "Natasha," Kat lied smoothly, moving down to wait at the end of the coffee shop counter. She moved to sit in a corner of the cozy shop. She'd likely spend her whole morning here, where there was heat, and it was clean.

       Kat had been on the run for 3 days, and usually New York was getting warmer by early May, but of course, they were going through a cold streak, meaning Kat had spent her last couple nights huddled up in her coat. She had gotten into a pattern at this point; wake up, get a coffee, hang out until people started getting suspicious, freshen up in a public bathroom, hang out in a different cafe until it started getting dark, then find a small spot to sleep that might shelter her from the wind. 

       Kat glanced at her receipt before she threw it out, but she stopped herself and smooth out the sheet of paper to glance at the date. _May 11, 2010; 09:46_. 

      "Happy Birthday to me," Kat muttered, sinking lower in the recliner that she'd occupied. Of all the ways she'd imagined becoming a teenager, becoming a homeless kid in New York was not one of them. Of course, she _was_ on the run from a pair of master assassins, so maybe not _too_ far from what she'd thought. Most scenarios had her dead before her 10th birthday, 13 was a damn miracle. 

       She wouldn't have ever known her birthday had she not swiped her file when she escaped from the Red Room. It had been mostly redacted anyway, but she'd learned that she'd been born on May 11th, 1997, that she was Israeli/Russian (unique to say the least), and that her full name was a mouthful: Ekaterina Ze'eva Markovic. 

      "Dark roast for Natasha?" Kat stood up and went to get her coffee, and noticed that a figure in the corner had stiffened at the sound of her order. The figure was female, with long curly auburn hair, and though she seemed familiar, she had her back to Kat, so instead Kat returned to her seat and studied the woman's companion. 

       The other woman's hair was a strawberry blonde, and she seemed tired and worn. She was picking at a coffee cake, obviously without much of an appetite, and there was something familiar about her face. Kat realized she was Pepper Potts, the new CEO of Stark Industries, and that she was probably hoping to avoid notice, which explained why she was seated in a corner, hiding from the world. Potts met Kat's eye and shifted uncomfortably, making her friend look up sharply.

       The woman Potts was with turned incrementally, and just that tiny pivot was enough to confirm what Kat was starting to piece together. The woman with Pepper Potts was Natasha Romanoff. 

       Kat stood up and began hurrying out of the shop, and behind her, she heard Natasha do the same, giving Pepper some excuse about "seeing an old colleague". Kat picked up her pace, bursting out of the café and into a run. Kat could her the click of Natasha's heels and she marveled at the speed that Natasha could travel while wearing them. She turned a sharp corner and whipped around, finding herself face to face with Natasha. 

        "'Of all the gin joints', huh?" Kat stalled, knowing that if it came down to a fight testing physical strength, Natasha would have the upper hand. Kat hadn't eaten a full meal since she left the apartment, and Kat wasn't sure she'd be able to hold her own in a fair fight against Natasha anyway.

         "Where the hell did you watch that?" Natasha asked, cocking her head. She was wearing a black business formal type dress, and she had put extensions in or _something_. She looked not-like Natasha. "It took Clint a year to get me to watch Casablanca, where did _you_ see it?"

         "Undercover mission," Kat replied, rolling out of the way as Natasha launched herself suddenly at Kat. As Kat moved to turn, Natasha grabbed her wrist with lightening reflexes and pulled her back, landing her in a position with one arm twisted behind her back, and the other pinned underneath her. "Fuck. That was over quick."

         "Well, you didn't even try," Natasha accused, holding her down with one hand and pulling a small burner phone from her clutch with the other. "Clint? Hey. Yeah, I found Katya. Yeah, I'll give you the address. You bringing Kate? Let her drive, you need to get here quickly. I'm supposed with Potts, I can't be gone long."

           Natasha gave Clint the address of the cafe, then used another cell and called Potts to tell her that she'd be a little while. Putting the two cells back in her clutch, she looked down at Kat, still on the ground with her arm twisted behind her. 

         "So what was the point of all this?" Natasha tsked, letting her weight fall on Katya's arm, further incapacitating her. Kat didn't answer, instead letting her cheek rest against the cool of the concrete. She'd started feeling sick lately, and the cold against her flesh felt soothing, and was making her a little bit sleepy. Natasha jerked her arm lightly, more to get her attention than anything. "Katerina. What the hell were you _thinking_?"

        "I was _thinking_ you wouldn't be at this particular cafe," Kat snarked into the ground, making Natasha sigh. As she tried to pull Kat into a sitting position, Kat shook her head and resisted the movement. "No no, I'm comfortable, thanks. I'll just stay here on the ground."

        "Kat? Katya. Katerina," Natasha shook Kat a bit harder, and Kat realized she'd started to drift off. The black crept back in the edges of her vision, and the sound of Natasha's voice began to blur as the world went dark.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's some Katie Kate for you, as well as a small Casablanca reference, because I'm a piece of classic movie trash. Because of the similarities between Kate's name and Kat's name, Kat is either referred to as "the Other Kate", Katya or Kat, but never by Kate, Katie-Kate or Katie. It's a bit confusing, but not too bad, hopefully. 
> 
> Please please please review??? I aim to please, but I can't do that without any feedback. Just take a minute and tell me what you liked or didn't, and what you hope to see in the next chapter/what you don't want for the next chapter. Ily!


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